AIMO, Domenico

In 1509 Pope Julius II commissioned Donato Bramante to construct a rectangular structure within the basilica of Santa Maria to enclose the Santa Casa (Holy House).

The sculpture of the Holy House comprises in all twenty figures in niches and nine exceptionally large marble panels carved in a horizontal format in high relief depicting scenes from the Life of the Virgin.

The nine marble reliefs seem to have been begun before Bramante’s death (1514) and are conceived in a single style. Two of the reliefs, the Adoration of the Shepherds (#1) and the Annunciation (#2), were carved by Andrea Sansovino between 1518 and 1523. The Marriage of the Virgin (#3) was begun by Sansovino and completed by Tribolo. The Birth of the Virgin (#4) was begun by Baccio Bandinelli (1518-19) and completed by Raffaello da Montelupo (1533). The Adoration of the Magi (#5) by Raffaello da Montelupo dates from the period when he and Baccio Bandinelli worked on the Birth of the Virgin. In 1533 Tribolo and Francesco da Sangallo collaborated on the Translation of the Holy House of Nazareth (#6). In the same year Montelupo completed his Visitation (#7) and Sangallo added the relief of Mary and Joseph Completing the Census (#8). The last narrative, the Dormition of the Virgin (#9) was finished by Sangallo in 1536.

Around 1520, Aimo undertook to execute the relief of the Dormition of the Virgin for the Santa Casa, Loreto Cathedral. He worked on the sculpture from the end of 1523 until August 1525. The relief was completed by Niccolò Tribolo and Francesco da Sangallo in 1536.

In 1518 Domenico Aimo drew up a masterplan for the fa�ade of San Petronio, which was followed for the decoration of the two existing lateral portals embellished with Old and New Testament scenes (1524-30). The marble reliefs were carved by teams of sculptors under the direction of Ercole Seccadenari (d 1540). The artists included Alfonso Lombardi, Amico Aspertini, Niccolò Tribolo, Girolamo da Treviso, Zaccaria Zacchi da Volterra (1473-1544), and Properzia de’ Rossi. The lunette over the left portal contains a figural tableau of the Resurrection (1527) by Lombardi, the lunette over the right portal the Deposition by Aspertini and Seccadenari. The pinnacles are adorned by reliefs (1567-69) by Giacomo Silla, Teodosio de’ Rossi (active 1560-1613), and Lazzaro Casario (active 1568-88).

In 1514 Aimo received a commission from the Roman senate to execute a statue of Pope Leo X in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome. The statue (now Rome, Santa Maria in Aracoeli), resting on a plinth that bears three inscriptions, was installed in the Palazzo dei Conservatori in 1521. The Pope is shown seated, and his face is rendered realistically. The figure as a whole does not have an imposing effect, and even if this were intentional, Aimo’s lack of artistic force can still be felt.

In 1518 Domenico Aimo drew up a masterplan for the fa�ade of San Petronio, which was followed for the decoration of the two existing lateral portals embellished with Old and New Testament scenes (1524-30). The marble reliefs were carved by teams of sculptors under the direction of Ercole Seccadenari (d 1540). The artists included Alfonso Lombardi, Amico Aspertini, Niccolò Tribolo, Girolamo da Treviso, Zaccaria Zacchi da Volterra (1473-1544), and Properzia de’ Rossi. The lunette over the left portal contains a figural tableau of the Resurrection (1527) by Lombardi, the lunette over the right portal the Deposition by Aspertini and Seccadenari. The pinnacles are adorned by reliefs (1567-69) by Giacomo Silla, Teodosio de’ Rossi (active 1560-1613), and Lazzaro Casario (active 1568-88).

In 1518 Domenico Aimo drew up a masterplan for the fa�ade of San Petronio, which was followed for the decoration of the two existing lateral portals embellished with Old and New Testament scenes (1524-30). The main portal in the centre was decorated earlier by Jacopo della Quercia.

The marble reliefs of the lateral portals were carved by teams of sculptors under the direction of Ercole Seccadenari (d 1540). The artists included Alfonso Lombardi, Amico Aspertini, Niccolò Tribolo, Girolamo da Treviso, Zaccaria Zacchi da Volterra (1473-1544), and Properzia de’ Rossi. The lunette over the left portal contains a figural tableau of the Resurrection (1527) by Lombardi, the lunette over the right portal the Deposition by Aspertini and Seccadenari. The pinnacles are adorned by reliefs (1567-69) by Giacomo Silla, Teodosio de’ Rossi (active 1560-1613), and Lazzaro Casario (active 1568-88).